Weight Watchers Australia — March 2018

BEFORE

SOPHIE

BUTLER

AGE

27

HEIGHT

172cm

START WEIGHT

88kg

WEIGHT NOW

68kg

WEIGHT LOST

20kg

TIME TAKEN

2 years

HOW

Online

SOPHIE’S TOP TIP:

“Love yourself

and stop

comparing

yourself to

others.”

B

efore joining Weight

Watchers, Sophie Butler

thought everyone felt

bloated, tired and drained most

of the time. “I didn’t realise it

wasn’t how you’re supposed to

feel,” she reveals.

The 27-year-old dental nurse

from Perth had been steadily

gaining weight since she turned 18.

“I got my driver’s licence and

started going out for dinner with

friends more frequently. I’d done

a lot of dance while I was

growing up – mainly jazz and tap

• but stopped when I turned 18.
  “I was a
  competitive swimmer
  when I was younger
  and as I got older
  I stopped swimming
  through a squad,
  although I still enjoyed
  it in my spare time.”
  Then, after a trip
  overseas with her
  boyfriend (now husband)
  Richard, 29, Sophie
  returned to Australia the
  heaviest she’d ever been.
  “After eating and
  drinking our way across
  Europe for two months I weighed
  88kg. When we got home Mum
  was doing WW and she had lost
  12kg so I decided to join too.
  I thought it would be easy if we
  did it together and could
  support each other,” she says.

EATING CONSCIOUSLY

During the first few weeks on

the WW program Sophie began

to view food very differently.

She started cooking and eating

at home more. Planning meals,

weighing food and tracking

everything she ate meant her

choices became healthier and

her portion sizes got smaller.

“Carbs are my favourite thing

ever. I love bread and pasta.

Before I joined WW I would

sometimes have two pieces

of toast for breakfast, then a

sandwich for lunch, followed

by a big bowl of pasta for dinner.

“Until I started tracking

I didn’t realise how much I was

eating. Now I mix it up more.

I can still have the carbs I love,

but in moderation, and that’s

the beauty of Weight Watchers.

No food is off limits, but you

learn how to balance everything

out across the week.”

Sophie and Richard still love

eating out at restaurants, but

now Sophie makes healthier

choices from the menu.

“I choose the option that

doesn’t come with chips, or I’ll

swap the chips for salad and

a simple dressing. Sometimes

I’ll just order an entree and we

might share a dessert.”

Sophie is a big fan of the

New WW Your Way+ program,

and loves the flexibility and

freedom it gives her to enjoy

her favourite foods and never

feel like she’s missing out.

“I eat very healthy meals from

Monday to Friday, then I splurge

a little on the weekend without

having to worry about it.”

GETTING PHYSICAL

When Sophie and Richard

married last March, she had been

maintaining her Goal weight of

68kg for more than a year.

“I took up pole dancing, which

helped me build muscle and has

been great for my flexibility and

core strength. It was something

I never thought I’d do, but in an

all-female environment it is

supportive and fun.”

Along with swimming, in

the warmer months Sophie

walks her Australian shepherd, Words

Jo Webber

Photography

David Hahn

Styling

Karli Butson

Hair and makeup

Rachael Montgomery

20 weightwatchers.com/nz

Sophie and husband Richard

(above) love eating out, but

now she makes healthy choices

and keeps active walking her

dog Freddie – and she’s been

at Goal for more than a year!